Friday, March 29

Tag: Harry Blake

Say Yes to Tess – Camden People’s Theatre
London

Say Yes to Tess – Camden People’s Theatre

When I arrived at the Camden People’s Theatre on Thursday night, despite having been there several times before, I walked straight past it. It has had a lovely post-pandemic spruce up and the space felt clean, calm and inviting. Then, my heart sank when I saw the promotional poster for the show. “Say Yes to Tess - A New Musical”. Now don’t get me wrong, fringe theatre is very much my bag, and the description I’d read of the piece had really appealed to me, but goodness me… a musical in an intimate setting is the stuff of my nightmares. I’m pleased to report, though, that I was very pleasantly surprised and had a genuinely uplifting and enjoyable evening. Say Yes to Tess is Tess Seddon’s autobiographical retelling of her experience standing as a candidate for the Yorkshire Party in the ...
Musical director Harry Blake talks about Say Yes to Tess at Leeds Playhouse
Interviews

Musical director Harry Blake talks about Say Yes to Tess at Leeds Playhouse

One of the first-time candidates in the 2017 general election was Tess Seddon who stood for the Yorkshire Party in Leeds North East. Not surprisingly given it is a safe Labour safe this political novice didn’t win with her 303 votes, but she has now turned her experiences as a candidate into a musical comedy, Say Yes to Tess. Unexpectedly thrust into the political maelstrom Tess takes her newly formed party’s passion for Yorkshire devolution to the streets, but with the election day looming her play follows the candidate as she starts to question whether she’s doing the right thing. Our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke caught up with the show’s musical director Harry Blake to find out more about a show that attempts to make politics fun, and maybe just a bit more accessible. Tell ...